Rams Dome Proposal Made Public

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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) - The St. Louis Rams have made their Edward Jones Dome proposal public. The Missouri Attorney General released the document Monday morning. Read the Full Document Here.

The Rams originally tried to keep the plan a secret. But media outlets, including FOX 2, argued under the Sunshine Law that the Rams' plan should be public because taxpayer money was used to build the Dome.

According to the documents, the Rams proposed several changes to bring the stadium up to Tier 1 NFL standings including a retractable panel on the ceiling and gutting the interior of the dome and putting in new seating.

Back in February, the Convention and Visitors Commission put forth a plan for $124 million worth of improvements to the Dome. It included lots of new windows, a giant new video screen, and a bridge over Broadway. But the Rams rejected that plan and then submitted their counter-proposal to the CVC two weeks ago.

A source from the CVC tells FOX 2's Charles Jaco the Rams proposed changes would cost nearly $700 million and would close the Dome for two to three years.

Restaurants and hotels in the area and all their workers could be hit hard. The Mayor`s Chief of Staff Jeff Rainford said, "The dome would be closed for 2, 3, maybe 4 years again just eyeballing it the CVC says that may cost hotel and restaurants and the St. Louis hospitality industry as much as a half billion dollars that doesn`t take into account all the lost jobs from the hospitality industry from putting on conventions."

Joe Sanfilippo owns a restaurant next door to the dome. He`s reaped the benefits from having the N.F.L. play nearby. As a taxpayer he`d be willing to pay more to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Sanfilippo said, "It`s good for the city, we want can`t lose another football team I think the team is good for the city, the businesses around the stadium."

One fan said to see the Dome refurbished would be 'really cool.' Others complained it`s too expensive. State Representative Tishaura Jones doesn`t like the proposal. The dome is in her district. She said Stan Kroenke wants to leave St. Louis and this is his way of putting up a hurdle too high to jump over.

Under the Rams lease agreement, if the Dome isn't among the top eight NFL stadiums by 2015, then the Rams can leave St. Louis.

If a deal between the Rams and the CVC isn't reached by June 15th, then the issue heads to arbitration which could take until the end of the year.